Biden donors 'freaked out' by his reliance on teleprompters at private fundraisers
Critics are calling out President Biden over his use of a teleprompter at private meetings with Democratic donors, fueling further skepticism whether he can stay in the 2024 race.
President Biden is facing intense scrutiny over his apparent reliance on teleprompters in closed-door meetings with Democratic donors in the fallout of last week's presidential debate.
MSNBC political analyst John Heilemann revealed on his "Impolitic" podcast that donors are "freaked out" that Biden can't go off script during their private fundraisers.
"One of the things, to go back to my various donor friends, something that in, of course, the last six months, has come up a bunch of times with donors who have had Joe Biden at their house, they are all freaked out by one thing that you guys will understand. He shows up- and it's a group of people, the friendliest people you can imagine, they're all writing him big checks. He speaks for about 15 minutes on prompter at every little dinner event," Heilemann said on Friday's podcast.
"He never ad-libs. He's never just off prompter… I mean, you're sitting with a bunch of, like, 40 multimillionaires who are writing you giant checks. You have 15 minutes of remarks to give over dinner, and you're on prompter. Again, does that make him a bad president? No. Does that make him unfit to be president? No. Does it freak donors out that he needs to be on prompter? It freaks them out," he said.
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"This was an hour and a half off prompter, that's what it looks like right now. And he got better as the debate went on, but in its worst moments, it was like, that's why they keep him on prompter. And that is not an issue that's gonna go away," Heilemann added.
That explosive claim was confirmed the next day by Anthony Scaramucci, former President Trump's short-lived White House communications director-turned-Biden supporter.
"I went to President Biden‘s fundraiser in East Hampton and I thought he did quite well reading the teleprompter today and meeting with people," Scaramucci wrote on X before warning, "However, that is not going to be enough to prove to the American people that he’s up for another 4 years."
Scaramucci's post quickly went viral.
"He uses a teleprompter at a fundraiser?" former CNN host Brian Stelter reacted.
"A teleprompter at a fundraiser??" former Rep. Scott Taylor, R-Va., exclaimed.
"Nothing inspires confidence like having to use a teleprompter for a few minutes of remarks at a fundraiser," Denver radio host Ross Kaminsky wrote.
"If he’s using a teleprompter at a fundraiser, everything else written here is irrelevant," CNN contributor Shermichael Singleton said. "Why would he need to be scripted at a private, closed-off event with a small number of people? Having worked for three presidential candidates and one president, I have never seen any of them use a teleprompter at private fundraisers—there’s simply never been a need. Clearly, the perpetual reliance on scripting the POTUS is done for a reason, and it’s not a good one."
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The Wall Street Journal also reported on the "overly controlled" donor meetings involving his use of a teleprompter.
"Some donors described one of the events as overly controlled, with Biden reading from a teleprompter and providing little one-on-one time for meaningful exchanges with the donors who propel the campaign," the Journal wrote Saturday.
The Biden campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Biden's shocking debate performance has become a political earthquake with wide swaths of the liberal media calling for him to withdraw from the presidential race.
"Mr. Biden has been an admirable president. Under his leadership, the nation has prospered and begun to address a range of long-term challenges, and the wounds ripped open by Mr. Trump have begun to heal. But the greatest public service Mr. Biden can now perform is to announce that he will not continue to run for re-election," The New York Times editorial board wrote Friday.
However, top Democrats are rallying behind Biden, including former President Obama.
"Bad debate nights happen. Trust me, I know," Obama said in a statement Friday. "But this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself. Between someone who tells the truth; who knows right from wrong and will give it to the American people straight — and someone who lies through his teeth for his own benefit. Last night didn’t change that, and it’s why so much is at stake in November."